


Watch Out for Clickers

by Mudheart7567



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Last of Us
Genre: F/M, Rating May Change, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, The Last of Us universe AU, Zombie Apocalypse, acquaintences to friends to lovers, and it's been going on for twenty years, because it's the zombie apocalypse, not based off of the game plot, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:27:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22757029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mudheart7567/pseuds/Mudheart7567
Summary: For twenty years the infected have roamed the Earth and mother nature has claimed back what is rightfully hers. Survivors are few and far between. Rey and her group plan to travel further North on word that there is a safe haven free of military and bandits- Horizon.When Rey is injured and separated from her friends, she finds an unlikely saviour in a man named Ben who seems to be just as alone as her. Together they must travel and fight to reach Horizon, or die trying.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll start off by saying I am more than a little rusty, I haven't written for fun in years and it'll probably show. This story is also unbeta'd so there may be some errors here and there, though I'll try my best to avoid them.
> 
> To clarify, this story is only set in the universe of The Last of Us and is not based off of the game's plot. I recently replayed the game and had a strong interest in how unique its take on the zombie apocalypse trope was. You don't need to have played the game or know much about it to read this, and a quick Google search of the infected mentioned (Runners, Clickers and Bloaters) should clear up any confusion there.
> 
> Without further ado, let's begin!

Rey's breath came in heavy pants as her rapid footfalls echoed through the dark and empty halls. Behind her she could hear the telltale sounds of shrieking and clicking and she knew her pursuers were gaining on her. Skidding around a sharp corner, she almost dropped the bag she was carrying. A Bloater stood in her path and upon realising there was live prey it reached out a pale, gnarled arm. 

"Shit!" She gasped, whirling back around and taking off down the opposite corridor just in time to avoid the blast radius of the spores it released. The pack of Clickers were still sprinting after her, following the sounds of her steps and bumping into walls and into one another as they scrambled desperately for their prize. Rey vaulted over a cluster of gurneys, earning her some distance as the blind creatures clumsily plowed through and lost momentum. She had to shake them or else this place would be her tomb. 

Her lungs began to burn from the effort of running full pelt for so long. Ahead lay an open wall, crumbling and sporting moss and vines around the edges. There was no other way to go. _At least if the fall kills me I won't become one of them,_ she thought, bracing herself and leaping as far as she could out into the open air. She felt fingertips brush her back for the briefest of milliseconds and shivered as she realised how close she'd come to being grabbed. Tucking and rolling, she hit the ground and tumbled down the steep incline. Above, the frustrated shrieks of the Clickers filled the air. 

Rey felt the air knocked right out of her and pain exploded in her ribcage as her body slammed into a jutting concrete slab on the way down. It slowed her tumble somewhat but not enough to stop her from hitting her head on the brick wall at the bottom with a solid crack. Her vision grew dark around the edges, her head pounding as she weakly reached for her gun. It wouldn't be long before those freaks got desperate enough to follow her.

\----------------

The shrieking of nearby Clickers made Ben pause before placing the last can of beans from the cupboard he was raiding into his backpack. If trouble was headed his way he needed to be ready to leave. Flinging the bag over one shoulder he made a swift exit through the back door. It sounded like all the commotion was coming from the hospital and Ben made a mental note to head for home in the opposite direction. 

That is, until the gunshots started. 

Someone was alive out there. Ben hadn't seen another person for quite some time and he'd begun to think he was the last in the city. It was a split second decision to investigate the situation. Part of him knew that he'd have to exercise caution, there were no guarantees that this person wasn't hostile or hadn't already been bitten. Not to mention Clickers, despite their blindness, were a deadly foe.

His feet carried him swiftly through streets of abandoned vehicles. Plant life was thriving through the cracks in the asphalt, growing over cars and buildings as mother nature took back what was hers over the years. Dark clouds loomed overhead that threatened an incoming downpour. Ben kept his wits about him as he ran toward the gunshots, wary of any nasty surprises that might lurk around every nook and corner. He'd learned to be smart and be able to plan on his feet to survive this long.

The shrieks and shots were close now, just beyond the wall that separated the hospital from the street. Stopping and studying his surroundings for a moment quickly turned up a safer option than just blindly charging in. He turned to the alley opposite and took a running leap to grasp the broken ladder of a two-storey apartment building. Grunting from the effort he pulled himself up and ascended the stairs to the roof. From here he had a vantage point and could see down over the wall at what he was dealing with, the stone parapet providing a small amount of cover should someone open fire on _him_. 

There was a girl, injured from what he could see. She lay on her side, desperately trying to shoot at the infected that were advancing down the hill toward her. If he didn't intervene she wouldn't last much longer. 

With his mind made up Ben took his hunting rifle from off his shoulder and used the parapet as support for better aim. Taking a moment to line up his shot, he fired off a round. His target went down like a tonne of bricks, writhing and squealing for a moment before stilling. Two left. He took out another one with a well-aimed headshot just as the girl managed to empty the rest of her bullets into the second. Silence followed, the air blissfully void of any telltale clicking. 

Exhaling heavily, Ben leaned back and settled the strap of his rifle back over his shoulder. Heading back over to the fire escape he steeled himself for a situation that could easily turn south.

\------------------

Rey could barely process what had just happened. Her head pounded painfully, blood and sweat pouring down her face and stinging her eyes. Before her lay the corpses of her infected pursuers, two of which she was certain that _she_ hadn't killed. 

She attempted to sit but a wave of nausea forced her back down, her vision blurring and darkening at the edges. This was bad. It would soon be nightfall and to remain outside alone and unconscious was a death sentence. She choked back a sob thinking of how Finn, Rose and Paige would soon realise she wasn't coming back. They would have to leave without her, knowing she was dead.

As she lay there thunder began to rumble overhead, the clouds looking dark and angry. It was only moments later when the first raindrops began to fall, steadily increasing to a downpour punctuated by the occasional flash of lightning and crack of thunder. She was going to die here, sodden and bleeding and alone.

It was all her fault really, she thought as a silent tear rolled down her cheek to join the raindrops. Paige had offered to come with her on the supply run but Rey had turned her down stating that she was faster and quieter alone. _It's only going to be a quick run anyway,_ she'd said, _nothing too dangerous._

Except she'd then gone and put herself in one of _the_ most dangerous situations. Large buildings such as the hospital were usually crawling with infected and with the added risk of getting turned around or trapped it made for a very risky gamble. She'd decided to take the risk because their group was in desperate need of antibiotics and medical supplies and all of the local markets and pharmacies had already been raided and picked clean. Finn had broken his arm and they needed to take care of it before it became infected. 

Rey hadn't told them where she was going. They would never have wanted her to put her life in danger like this. 

She was broken out of her lamenting by the sound of heavy footfalls, mud squelching under the feet of what had to be someone- or something- rather large. Fear crept over her, sending a cold chill down her spine. She had no more ammunition, this was it. As her world dissolved into darkness the last thing she saw was the tall, wide silhouette of a man. She wasn't sure if human or infected would be worse.

\------------------------

Awareness returned slowly, a low groan escaping from her as she burrowed deeper into the pillow. Her grip on the blanket tightened, bringing it up to her chin. She must have spent the night drinking with her companions again. Her mouth felt dry and a dull pain pulsed through her skull, made worse by the ache in her ribs and the feeling of an empty stomach. _Fuck…_

A sense of dread slowly filled her as her brain caught up on what had really happened. She'd been out on a supply run, there'd been Clickers, she was sure she was going to die but then… A sharp gasp left her as she sat up in a panic, immediately regretting it when her head and sternum twinged in protest. The world around her spun for a moment. It was dizzying, disorienting and quite frankly she might have puked had her belly not been empty. 

Where was she? This wasn't her bed. The room was dark and unfamiliar, lit only by a candle on the bedside table. It looked to be rather bare save for the bed, table and a set of drawers that looked like they'd seen better days, the wood rotten and decayed. The windows were boarded up, preventing anything from getting in or out and the wallpaper was mouldy and peeling. Despite this there were signs of the room having been lived in. Empty food wrappers were stacked high in a trash can in the corner, clothes were folded neatly on the dresser and a large backpack sat off to one side. 

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up."

A startled yelp left Rey unbidden and she pressed herself back against the headboard. Her hands roamed frantically all around her, searching for a weapon. All that turned up was a broken old lamp on the bedside table but she grabbed it regardless of how ridiculous it looked. She held it in what she hoped was a threatening manner, looking to the source of the low voice. "Come any fucking closer and I'll bash your head in!" She stammered out, her hands shaking despite her bold words.

The tall silhouette paused, the light of the candle not quite reaching his features. An impatient sigh left him but he respected her wishes and stayed where he was. A long pause followed before Rey spoke again. "Where the bloody hell am I?" She hoped she sounded more fierce than she felt. Truth be told she was terrified. Alone and injured with a strange man whose intentions were unclear and nobody around to help her; not the best situation to be in.

"You're at my safehouse," the man replied, his voice quiet and gruff as if he didn't speak often.

When he didn't offer anything else Rey felt her frustration grow. "Why did you bring me here? Who are you?!"

"Keep your voice down," he hissed in response. Another tense silence followed, broken by the distant sound of shrieking down on the streets. They were safe for now, so long as they were quiet. The windows and doors would only hold for so long. "I'm only the guy who saved your life, no need to thank me."

"I wasn't going to," she growled in response to his dry tone. She kept her eyes trained firmly on him as he walked over to the wall and sunk down to sit beside the backpack, his knees drawn up and his hands resting between them. He was a tad less threatening sitting down but she wasn't about to drop her guard. 

More silence. The man didn't move save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest and Rey was a little unnerved. When next he spoke she was so tense that she jumped. "I didn't want to leave you to die," he explained. "You're the first actual person I've seen in a long time. I brought you here so you could recover in relative safety."

His words did little to dispel her uneasiness. "How long was I out for?" She asked.

"Three days," he responded. "Like I said, I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up."

 _Three days?!_ Panic gripped her again for an entirely new reason. Her group would have left without her. They'd had plans to move on further North, to find a place that was a rumoured safe haven for survivors. She didn't notice that she'd begun hyperventilating until a firm grip on her wrists brought her back to the present situation. In her panic the stranger also managed to disarm her of the lamp. "Let go of me!" She yelped, struggling as much as she could against his hold.

"Calm down!" He snarled, his grip tightening until she winced. A part of him seemed to feel bad judging by the look on his face and the fact he immediately loosened his hands a little. "Don't you think if I wanted to hurt you I'd have done it by now? You're not exactly in any condition to fight."

Rey ceased her struggling at this but still regarded him with a wary stare. Now in the candlelight she could better make out his features. He was younger than expected, handsome but not in the conventional way. His nose was too crooked, mouth too plush, ears too large, but somehow it all came together and he made it work. Dark brown eyes, flecked with gold, stared back at her with just as much wariness and a healthy dose of frustration and a thin, red scar bisected his face. She inwardly cursed herself for thinking this guy was even remotely attractive, blaming it on the nasty bump to her head; she was meant to be cautious and fierce for fuck's sake!

When she stopped putting up a fight he seemed to relax a little, pulling back and releasing her from his grip. Despite this he still remained somewhat tense, as if he saw her as some kind of potential threat despite his words. Wordlessly he rose from the bed and went over to his backpack, crouching and retrieving something from the back pocket. She jumped again when he tossed something at her and a protein bar and a small bottle of water landed in her lap.

"Eat," he grunted, closing the zip and sitting back down with his back against the wall. "You'll feel better."

With only a moment of hesitation Rey eagerly ripped into the protein bar, not caring that she was scoffing it down like a rabid dog. These things tasted like absolute shite in her opinion but food was food and she hadn't eaten for just over three days. Afterward she unscrewed the cap on the water bottle and downed the room temperature liquid just as quickly. It soothed her parched throat and washed down the taste of the protein bar, and when she was finished she couldn't help the little sigh she released.

The stranger hadn't moved an inch and he wasn't looking at her. Instead he stared at the wall opposite and fiddled with one of the straps on his bag. Now that she'd calmed a little and her belly was full, Rey realised the truth behind his words. The guy was frankly massive and if he'd wanted to hurt her he would have done so well before now. Instead he'd saved her from Clickers, brought her to his home, let her have his bed and had now just fed her. He'd also not brought any weapons into the room- had none on his person either from what she could see- and she wondered if that was on purpose to help her feel less threatened.

"Why did you save me?" She asked, her tone softer than before. The stranger made no indication that he'd heard her, but after a long pause responded, "I wanted to do the right thing for once."

There was a tiredness to his voice, not just in the literal sense but the bone-deep and emotional weariness of a man who'd seen and done too much. She recalled him saying she was the first person he'd seen in a while and wondered if he used to have a group, and if so what had happened to them?

The thought made her think of her own companions and her heart fell. They'd be long out of the city by now. It pained her to know she was on her own for now, whenever the stranger's hospitality wore out. He probably didn't want to keep her around longer than necessary, struck her as the lone wolf type. 

"I won't overstay my welcome," Rey told him. "If you could just grab me my bag I'll be out of your hair."

He glanced over at her, his expression unreadable. "I'm not going to keep you here, but you're still recovering," he responded, and maybe his voice wasn't as hard as before. "You're… welcome to stay and get your strength back. I'll give you some supplies before you go."

Rey was momentarily stunned at his generosity. Perhaps he was lonely, perhaps he had an ulterior motive, whatever the reason she'd be keeping a close eye on him regardless. "Thank you… uh… I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Ben." She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but such a normal and non-threatening sounding name wasn't it. Though the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to suit him. 

"Ben," she echoed, testing out the name. "I'm Rey."

Ben nodded and rose to his feet, beginning to head out of the room. "Get some more sleep, Rey," he told her, closing the door behind him.

Rey exhaled heavily and sunk down into the mattress, the softness of the pillow beginning to pull her back under. For all that Ben was rough around the edges he was showing her more kindness than was usually seen these days. In a world where humans were often worse than the infected, one couldn't help but be cautious; selflessness was a luxury not many people would take. Yet he'd taken a chance despite not knowing her, and she was taking a chance by staying here and following his advice.

That was decidedly a problem for future Rey. Present Rey was far too tired to fight the droop of her heavy eyelids and she soon succumbed to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our heroes try and fail to get along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The comments on the first chapter really warmed my heart and I already had Chapter Two written and ready to go, so I decided to post it early. I've not yet decided whether I'll post on a schedule or as I complete chapters but Chapter Three is already underway and I estimate it'll be completed by this weekend.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, it brings me joy to share my imagination with likeminded creatives!

The couch was old and lumpy and covered in a few dark stains that Ben didn't care to think about the source of. Usually he would sleep in the bed, but the bed was currently taken. Sighing he rolled over and tried to get comfortable, pulling his spare blanket- a rough and scratchy old thing- up to his shoulders. His legs were far too long for him to fit comfortably but he'd made do for the past few nights. 

He could put up with a bit of discomfort for a while, at the very least until Rey had recovered. _Rey._ Such an odd name. It suited her regardless.

A small groan left him at the growing ache between his shoulder blades. He shuffled this way and that, silently willing the lumps in the ratty old sofa to disappear. Springs poked irritatingly through the material and if he weren't feeling so generous he swore he'd go back and roll the girl off of his mattress. _Deep breaths,_ he told himself, closing his eyes. _She'll be gone before you know it._

At some point he must have finally drifted off because when next his eyes opened there was morning light flooding through the gaps in the boarded windows. The sounds of infected from the previous night were blissfully absent. With a grunt Ben swung his legs off the couch and sat up, each and every muscle in existence seeming to protest with the movement. It was still early and if he was quick he could go and get more supplies before Rey woke up. He was starting to run low and each supply run took him further and further away from the safehouse. It bothered him to think about what that meant. 

Quietly he snuck back into the bedroom, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder without waking Rey. On his way out of the house he made sure to grab his rifle and a box of extra bullets just in case. He removed the wooden planks that blocked the front door and stepped outside, closing the door behind him and covering the entrance over with tree branches and vines before heading off. 

The sky was overcast but at least there was no sign of rain. No doubt there would be more come evening. Ben kept his wits about him as he moved at a brisk trot, headed toward a cluster of stores he had not yet hit. 

\--------------------------

When Rey awoke she indeed felt much better than she had upon waking last night. Her headache was less intense and though she was still a little dizzy and her ribs still protested she felt comfortable enough to sit up without any trouble. At this rate she should be fit to move on in a matter of days. Traveling alone was dangerous but if she managed her time well she might be able to catch up to her group, if not at the very least meet them at their planned destination. 

She hoped that Finn was okay, and that train of thought reminded her that she needed Ben to give back her bag which in turn reminded her of Ben himself. He was a bit curt- which to most people would be off-putting- but in her opinion that made him strangely seem more trustworthy. It was the sickly sweet ones you had to look out for, the ones who tried _too_ hard to seem nice. Ben was quiet and gruff and blunt but his actions spoke louder than words which led her to believe that maybe he was one of the few good people left in the world. He'd saved her and fed her and expected nothing in return, giving up his bed and offering her supplies for when she would eventually leave.

A part of her was sad about the thought of leaving him behind, alone. He'd been alone before she'd come along, sure, but Rey knew all too well what it was like to be alone. Survival was hard enough without someone to watch your back and a lot of it depended on luck which one day would eventually run out. Odds went up in a group and even in pairs. Loneliness also tended to drive one a bit mad, and perhaps that was another reason Ben had deemed it a good idea to save her life. Loners tended to be more wary of others and survived longer if they were selfish, most people would have simply let her die rather than risk bringing a pack of infected down on themselves or death at the hands of a potentially aggressive survivor. 

Thoughts of Ben soon lead to thoughts of _where was Ben?_ The house seemed awfully quiet and while she appreciated him letting her sleep in a part of her wanted to know she wasn't alone. The thought of an empty house unnerved her, despite the fact that many of her earlier years had been spent on her own looking out for herself. It seemed in recent years she'd grown too used to having companions. 

"Ben?" She called out tentatively. There was no response. She called again with the same result.

He'd probably gone out on a supply run and would be back soon, her logical brain told her. Her emotional brain yearned for someone to be with her in this vulnerable time and she once again found herself missing her friends. 

It wasn't long before Rey found herself growing restless. Gingerly she peeled back the blankets and swung her legs over the side of the bed, the tips of her toes brushing the carpet. She knew she'd have to be careful and take it slow having been bed ridden for the better part of four days. Gripping the bedside table she slowly placed her feet down on the floor and attempted to stand. Her movements were shaky, legs about as stable as that of a newborn foal.

It took a moment for her knees to stop shaking and her head to stop swimming but when they did Rey gained enough confidence to take a few tentative steps. The journey from the bed to the door was slow-going and more than once she thought she might fall. She made it to the door without incident however and with every step she felt reassured that she would be fine. Heading out into the living room she stopped to take a short rest. Plonking down on the couch she winced as a spring poked into her rear end. 

Judging by the pillow and blanket Ben had been sleeping here. The thought made her frown. She felt more than a little guilty that she'd stolen his bed and he was resigning himself to discomfort every night for her sake. It only strengthened her resolve to make a quick recovery. 

The house was cozy- or at least, it must have been at some stage before rot and mould set in and everything got covered in a thick layer of dust- and modern with wooden floors, the walls painted in neutral tones. There were dusty photographs on a desk to one side, hinting at the people who lived there _before_. From where Rey sat she could see there was a modest kitchen and a laundry room with the door wide open, though they were essentially useless space as nothing worked without power. 

There were a couple of additional closed doors and Rey would have to get up if she wanted to find out what lie beyond them. The idea didn't seem awfully appealing considering her exhaustion from the simple trip from the bed to the couch, however she also felt a burning need to scout the entire house. It was a habit, one born of years of survival in a harsh world. One could not afford the luxury of ignorance. 

Grunting from the effort, she heaved herself to her feet once more and shuffled her way over to the first door. Her gradual exploration revealed that the rest of the house was made up of a bathroom, a study and- perhaps the saddest of all- a small child's bedroom. Rey quietly closed that door again, swallowing past a lump in her throat. The house's previous inhabitants were long gone, but the echoes of who they were remained. It was a painful reminder of how the fall of mankind had spared no-one, indiscriminate of the lives it took and the suffering it had inflicted upon those fortunate- or unfortunate- enough to survive. 

With her curiosity and survivor's instinct satisfied, Rey moved back to the couch and waited for Ben's return.

\----------------------------------

Ben had spent a good majority of the morning hunting for supplies with little to show for it. He'd been in the city for only a few months but it seemed that most of it had already been picked clean well before he'd chosen to settle here. It both frightened and frustrated him, knowing that eventually he would have to move on and find another home before winter hit. 

At least the trip hadn't all been for naught. When Rey mentioned having a bag he realised she must have dropped it in her escape, having rescued her without it. Against his better judgement he'd gone back to the hospital grounds to search for and retrieve it, thankfully doing so with little trouble. There'd been a stray Runner here and there, but light steps and a silent knife to the back of the head had taken care of that. Inside the bag he discovered medical supplies and a small amount of food, and he wondered if he could convince her to share for going to all this effort.

The clouds had grown darker overhead and a faint sprinkle of rain had already begun. It was incentive enough to make the trip back to the safehouse as quickly as possible. Uncovering the door, Ben slipped back inside and barred the entrance with the wooden planks once more. He placed his rifle and the bags down in the entrance hall and made his way into the living room to see that his guest had surprisingly made it to the couch. 

"You're up," he stated obviously, unable to keep the surprise out of his tone. 

"I'm up," she confirmed with a little shrug, hazel eyes tracking his every movement as he set about retrieving food and water for them both.

Ben couldn't help but feel a small flicker of amusement at the way Rey was unable to hide her disdain for protein bars. Unfortunately they didn't have the luxury of many options. The cans of beans and fruits he was trying to save for when they really needed it. "Sorry, a lot of the good stuff went early."

"It's fine, I'm used to it unfortunately." She certainly proved to not be a picky eater by the way she wolfed down the bar like it was going to disappear. Ben chewed his more slowly, taking his time. "Where did you go?"

"Wanted to see if I could find more food," he responded. "Managed to find a couple cans of tinned fruit but not much else, so I went back to the hospital to get your bag."

Rey's brows furrowed at that. "I thought… Shit Ben, I thought my bag was already here! You should've just left it and told me, you didn't have to put yourself at risk."

Ben gave a small shrug and washed his food down with sips of water. "I figured you must've had important stuff in there and judging from all the medical supplies I'd say I made the right decision."

They lapsed into a long silence before Rey uttered a quiet, "Thanks."

Again Ben shrugged and he gave a non-committal grunt. She could thank him by splitting the bag's contents; medical supplies weren't too easy to come by nowadays. "What made you decide to risk going into a hospital alone in the first place?"

Rey was silent for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not to tell him. Eventually she sighed, picking at a loose thread on her pants as she spoke. "I had- _have_ a group," she answered. "One of my friends got injured and he needed it taken care of."

"And where is your group now?" It was a simple question but Ben couldn't help but notice how Rey tensed.

"Why?" She asked, eyeing him warily. 

"I need to know if they'll be out looking for you," he stated shortly, eyes narrowing. "I don't need trouble at my doorstep."

"They wouldn't be trouble," Rey defended. "Besides they won't be looking for me, they'll have moved on by now."

Ben snorted, a flat and humourless sound. "Some friends they must be if they're so quick to abandon you." He knew a thing or two about that. The memory still stung.

It was entirely the wrong thing to say, he knew it the instant Rey's features twisted with anger and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "They didn't _abandon_ me!" She hissed. "We had a plan in place and we all agreed not to stray from it for any reason!"

"That's a lot of words for 'I'm expendable'." He's being a jerk, he knows it, but for some reason it angered him to know her group had given up on her. Perhaps it was too close to what had happened to him.

He knew what it was like to be abandoned and left for dead.

"Is that what happened to you, did someone deem you _expendable_?" She'd hit the nail on the head but it was her tone that made him wince. "Well I can't bloody say I'm surprised given how much of an absolute knob you are."

Silence follows. Ben's features morphed into a scowl and he quickly left the room, not trusting himself to speak any further.

\----------------------------------

They avoid each other. With each passing day Rey's strength grew and she would soon be fit for travel. Her contact with Ben was limited to him taking her food and water before promptly leaving. He spent longer and longer out scavenging and at night he avoided any space she occupied like the plague. 

She didn't feel bad for what she had said, not when he had been the one to start being horrible first. He was hardened and socially inept- that much was apparent- but that was absolutely no excuse for being a prick.

It was a cold, grey morning when Rey grew too restless to stay any longer. The air was heavy with the promise of more rain and the wind was biting. With her gun holstered and her pack over one shoulder she stood in the doorway and glanced back at Ben, who was standing in the entrance hall awkwardly and refusing to make eye contact. 

"You could come with me, you know." She didn't know what made her offer, she was meant to still be mad at him but in truth the thought of traveling alone filled her with unease and a pang of loneliness. This could be the last time she saw another human being- a non-hostile one- for a long time. 

He didn't offer a response to that, merely told her, "Watch out for Clickers" and placed his hands in his pockets.

Rey frowned, closing the door behind her. She could hear the wooden planks being slotted back into place and with that she started off on her journey without so much as a glance back. If he wanted to stay here and die alone, by all means that was his choice and she _definitely_ wasn't disappointed about it. Certainly not.

Distant thunder rumbled and _bloody hell_ that was all she needed right now. Unfortunately there would be plenty more rain to come in the foreseeable future, followed by snow. It wasn't getting any warmer.

It was with a bit of luck that she made it to the city outskirts by late afternoon without getting poured on. The clouds chose that moment to unleash their fury and the sudden, heavy rain prompted her to take shelter. A cautious, thorough search through an old two-storey turned up clear and Rey barricaded the doors with furniture before settling in the upstairs master bedroom for the night. There was little point in venturing out at night in the rain. 

She'd locked the bedroom door as an extra defense measure. Though years of survival had made her a light sleeper, she'd learned it never hurt to go the extra step; it could mean the difference between life and death. 

As she kicked off her boots, pulled up the blanket and turned onto her side she watched the rain droplets hit the window and wondered how far Finn and the others had gone, or if they were still even- _No,_ she thought sharply. No sense in going there, grief without reason would only hinder her. They were fine until proven otherwise.

With that thought in mind she drifted off into a light, dreamless sleep to the sound of the pouring rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch. That didn't go quite as smoothly as expected.
> 
> Fear not, we all know these dorks won't stay apart for long.


End file.
